


No Más

by Longboard_Chris



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Episode: S2E03 Kame'e, Established Relationship, M/M, Pain, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-28
Updated: 2011-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-25 01:01:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/269962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Longboard_Chris/pseuds/Longboard_Chris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Danny knew the exact moment it ended, when his relationship with Steve was over.</i></p><p><i>10:53 pm. Monday. October 3rd. 2011.</i></p><p>A coda to Episode 2X03, so spoilers up to and including that episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Más

Danny knew the exact moment it ended, when his relationship with Steve was over.

All of 5-0 watched, in real-time, as SEAL Team 9 retaliated against the drug cartel responsible for killing off members of its unit. Danny stood, stone-faced, as the firefight played on, as each camera, mounted on each helmet, gave a different view and told a different story. And, at some point, he just had to know.

"You did that stuff?" he asked Steve, his distaste for what he was seeing, now quite obvious.

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Steve replied, staring straight ahead at the many monitors relaying the action.

And, Danny needed to focus on something. In case, anyone happened to glance in his direction, they wouldn't see the change to his face. That the bubble had burst. That all the love he had for Steve had drained away with those few, short, repeated ad-nauseum words.

So, Danny looked down at his watch. 10:53pm, it read. Monday. October 3rd. 2011.

\-----

For the rest of the week, Danny kept his distance from Steve. He didn't crash at the McGarrett home, feigning illness and claiming he didn't want to get Steve sick. As 5-0 had actual down-time after the SEAL Team 9 case, Danny used the break to catch up on mountains of the new governor's new bureaucracy, in paper form, office door closed. If anyone broached his sanctuary, Danny was polite, but less loquacious than usual. When Steve tried to talk to him, Danny kept his answers to one word or less.

It was evident, to anyone with a knowledge of Detective Danny Williams, that something was wrong. Steve lied to himself and decided it must be the paperwork that contributed to Danny's moodiness. If it didn't clear itself up by this weekend, their weekend with Grace, he would sit Danny down and drag out the reason for Danny's distance.

Unfortunately, Steve wouldn't have to wait that long.

As Friday wore on, Danny wasn't working; he was staring at his desk, trying to think of what to say to Steve and how to say it before 5 o' clock, when they would leave headquarters and pick up Grace. All week, he had been rolling this moment around in his mind, the moment when he had to face Steve.

And, throughout all of his ruminations, Danny couldn't avoid reflecting on the past year-and-a-half he had spent with Steve. He knew he was in trouble from the first moment they met, with guns drawn. As Steve had so often relished in reminding him, Danny's badge, of course, was upside down when he first flashed it. How fitting, since that was what McGarrett had done to the rest of Danny's life, as well.

Once Grace became enamored with her Uncle Steve, Danny was truly sunk. Afternoons of swimming and sandcastles on the private piece of McGarrett beach turned into weekend stay-overs at Steve's, complete with cookouts and Grace's own bedroom. With each visit, Steve, rightfully so, became another father to Grace. How could Danny take this away from her?

 _Because,_ Danny argued with himself, _Steve plays by a different set of rules_. And, it was true, according to Danny's moral code. The one instilled in him by his father, the firefighter, and his mother, the nurse. Danny had no problem with criminals being brought to justice. But, one man or a small group as judge, jury and executioner? Hell, no. Danny had turned a blind eye and rationalized things in his head too many times where Steve and his SEAL background diverged from Danny's ethics.

Now, as Danny re-read his pro's and con's list (yes, he actually wrote one out. He even caught himself cheating, loading the pro's side with the best of Steve's sexual techniques and prowess to tip things the way Danny's heart wanted them to go), he couldn't avoid the first con. The result of watching SEAL Team 9 in action with Steve.

"It's now or never," Danny said to himself, as he stood up. He took a deep breath and gathered some things, wishing he could be anywhere but here, right now.

Danny's footsteps seemed to echo more than usual, as he made his way down the darkened hallway. Steve looked up and smiled at Danny's approach, breaking into his goofy grin as Danny entered his office.

"Ready to go?" Steve asked. "I can't wait to see the look on Grace's face when we tell her, tonight. I may not be able to wait until after dinner."

Danny didn't respond. He just clicked the glass door shut behind him and closed them within the confines of Steve's space.

If anyone else had still been at headquarters, the scene surely would have looked to them like fireworks in a fish tank. Danny pacing back and forth, his voice rising and falling, as his hands flailed and windmilled, punctuating his crescendos. All the while, Steve stayed still in his chair, a shell-shocked look frozen on his face.

And when it was all over, Steve only had one question. "You don't feel safe with me?" he asked, incredulously.

"Me. Grace. It's all the same," Danny answered. "I shouldn't have to, and will not, I repeat, _will not_ , sleep with a loaded gun under my pillow because you, in your previous life, or as part of 5-0, have made enemies that have the power to retaliate like that SEAL Team did. They hit us, we strike back. Or, vice-versa. And, on it goes. Never ending."

"Danny, you know I would lay down my life for Grace."

"And, _you know_ , Steven, how much that means to me. But, we shouldn't even have to be having this conversation. Normal parents don't worry about home invasions or kidnappings as a real possibility. We have to. Because of this," Danny gestured, turning his body as he did, trying to encompass them and their lives in one movement.

Steve sighed and looked around the room as he thought, his mind scrambling to find a solution. "I'll do anything you want. I'll put in a better security system. I'll talk to the governor and get 24-hour surveillance on Grace and the house. Just tell me. I'll do it."

"You don't get it. You can't fix this. It's all down to me. And, I can't do this anymore."

"Danny, please..." Steve begged, as his voice trailed off. Because, he had no idea of how to fix this.

"Do you not understand English?" Danny's voice was approaching a volume that scared even him. "How about Spanish, then? _No más_ , Steven. No more."

Danny dropped what he was carrying on Steve's desk and turned to leave.

Steve reached forward and caught Danny's arm. "Just answer me one question. You do still love me, right?"

In a day of dick moves on Danny's part, this one took the prize. "I can neither confirm nor deny," he replied, his delivery measured and emotionless. Danny refused to make eye contact with Steve as he said these words, for fear of betraying to Steve the true answer.

Steve let go of Danny and collapsed back into his chair, as Danny walked out and was swallowed by the darkness of the hallway. For several, long moments, Steve didn't move, still stunned and almost not believing what had just transpired. When he finally came back to Earth, Steve decided to go home and get drunk. Maybe, then, everything would make more sense.

He stood up and something shiny caught his attention. On top of the pile of paperwork Danny left behind was the key. Danny's own, personal key to the McGarrett front door (he had never needed one in the past, since, of course, he was always there with Steve. And, McGarrett had a bad habit of never locking the door when he was home, anyway). Something inside Steve hurt as he picked it up, recalling how Danny had laughed until he couldn't breathe, thinking Steve was giving him a ring, instead.

Steve put the key back on the desk and saw the documents underneath were from his attorney. The ones Danny needed to sign (but, of course, didn't) to add his name to the deed of Steve's house. He pushed them aside and found more papers. Typed. In triplicate.

Danny's request to be transferred back to HPD. And, these, of course, Danny signed.

"Shit," Steve spat, as he swept his hand across his desk, scattering its contents like so many fallen, autumn leaves.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't own Steve and Danny. Wish I did.
> 
> Just a bit of fun.
> 
> Yes. I broke them. I'll fix them.


End file.
